Category: Biophilia

During this weekend long retreat at the beautiful Menla Retreat & Spa, Satya Scainetti, Founder of Satya Jewelry will lead you through the sacred art of mala making and how malas are used in daily practice to help manifest miracles. Creating a personal mala works to open the heart and serves as a talisman for individual empowerment and well-being. Each attendee will leave the retreat with an intention infused, one-of-a-kind mala that they are encouraged to use for a 40-day meditation.

The mala is a traditional garland of 108 prayer beads. Every bead represents a truth, and meditating on them with an affirmation, or mantra, is used to bring peace of mind. The mala can also be seen as a metaphor for life: a small knot between each of the beads represents a challenge between the smoother, more beautiful aspects of life.

Surrounded by thousands of acres of Catskills forest preserve, Menla is nestled in a magical hidden mountain valley in Phoenicia New York. Throughout the year, guests can enjoy deep serenity and abundant wildlife, explore many different levels of hikes, and take advantage of unique classes and services offering integrative healing -merging Tibetan, Ayurvedic and other holistic traditions. Menla features a conference center, yoga studio, sweat lodge, meditation sanctuary, and the wonderful new Tibetan Dewa Spa & Healing Center specializing in rare and ancient Tibetan therapies.

Menla is affliated with the cultural embassy for Tibet, the Tibet House in NYC, and operated by Robert AF Thurman, Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University as well as co-founder and President of Tibet House. In 2006 The Dalai Lama blessed the land and the stated mission at Menla: to be a place for health, healing and spiritual evolution, based on the wisdom of Tibetan medicine.

Satya Scainetti is the founder and designer of Satya Jewelry. A philanthropist, yoga teacher and Reiki healer, Satya lives a lifestyle dedicated to giving back to the world community. The name Satya, meaning “truth” in Sanskrit, inspires each wearer to their individual truth. With a global following, she creates beautiful, inspiring and meaningful jewelry that resonates with each customer’s own personal journey. Satya’s background in social work and passion for early childhood education sparked the creation of the Satya Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides children all over the world with hope, change and the opportunity to fulfill their destinies.

Earth Day Network, the organization that leads Earth Day worldwide, announced that Earth Day 2018 will focus on mobilizing the world to end plastic pollution, including creating support for a global effort to eliminate single-use plastics along with global regulation for the disposal of plastics. EDN will educate millions of people about the health and other risks associated with the use and disposal of plastics, including pollution of our oceans, water, and wildlife, and about the growing body of evidence that decomposing plastics are creating serious global problems.

From poisoning and injuring marine life to the ubiquitous presence of plastics in our food to disrupting human hormones and causing major life-threatening diseases, the exponential growth of plastics is threatening our planet’s survival. In response, EDN has built a multi-year End Plastic Pollution Campaign. The goals include ending single-use plastics, promoting alternatives to fossil fuel-based materials, promoting 100 percent recycling of plastics, corporate and government accountability and changing human behavior concerning plastics. As a catalyst for global action the campaign includes four major components:

Leading a grassroots movement to support the adoption of a global framework to regulate plastic pollution

Educating, mobilizing and activating citizens across the globe to demand that governments and corporations control and clean up plastic pollution

Educating people worldwide to take personal responsibility for plastic pollution by choosing to reject, reduce, reuse and recycle plastics

Promoting local government regulatory and other efforts to tackle plastic pollution

Be The Change. Take Action. Get Involved. Give To The Cause. Spread The Word. Choose An Option To End Plastic Pollution On Earth Day & Beyond!Here

A decade ago, after suffering from life-threatening autoimmune disorders, Hollywood actress Shiva Rose set out to discover a more holistic way to natural health and beauty. Growing her own organic herbs and flowers; mixing creams, lotions, and tonics; and following Ayurvedic practices & creating mindful rituals, she has not only healed her life but has also become a leader, entrepreneur and activist in the world of all-natural beauty & lifestyle.

Whole Beauty is her radiant next step, a practical, inspiring, stunningly beautiful guide to following a whole beauty practice at home. A devotee of ancient beauty practices and yet elegantly modern, Shiva advocates self-care with soothing rituals and luxurious flora-focused recipes that release inner radiance. This beautiful book is like a spa day for the soul and senses. Here is the recipe for Rose’s iconic Rose Hip facial serum, as well as 40 other recipes. She explains Ayurvedic practices, such as dry brushing and oil pulling, and home-cleansing rituals, such as smudging with burning sage; shares a dozen tonics, including Celestial Nog and Summer Lover; and offers an entire chapter on the use of essential oils, both on the body & in the home. With natural beauty solutions showing you how to tap into the full force of feminine energy, Whole Beauty is a complete guide to revitalizing your life.

Honoring The Earth, Celebrating The Body: An evening of story & ritual with Shiva Rose to celebrate the launch of her new book Whole Beauty at the Deepak Homebase, ABC Home NYC, April 5th, 2018. Discover daily rituals & earth-friendly recipes for lifelong beauty & wellness + take part in the creation of a nature altar in honor of Mother Earth. Tickets here

As a leading consciousness center in New York, Deepak Homebase is where audiences engage in experiences to enrich the beauty, wellness, and wisdom of our bodies, minds & planet. Convening global leaders, change-makers, and the most notable artists, authors, designers & performers to share their genius, galvanizing efforts to create a sustainable world.

The Gardener, American debut on March 28th 2018, A documentary by Sébastien Chabot about renowned plantsman and Garden Conservancy founder Frank Cabot (1925-2011) and his creation of Les Quatre Vents, his magnificent 20-acre garden in Québec. Through his own words and interviews with his family & gardening experts, the film presents Cabot’s extraordinary and inspiring vision that gave birth to one of the greatest gardens in the world.

Trailer For The Film The Gardener

The Gardener is a film that reflects upon the meaning of gardening and its impact on our lives. Shortly before his passing at the age of 86, the influential gardener and self-taught horticulturalist, revisited the creation of his private garden located in Charlevoix, on the top of Mount Murray. This English-style garden, created over three generations and maintained by himself for more than 50 years on the family estate on the St. Lawrence River, is an enchanted place of beauty and surprise, recognized throughout the world as one of the masterpieces of modern horticulture. Here Cabot’s memories and reflections, as well as those of his family and specialists, help take a look at his artistic approach and personal philosophy.

The film is being distributed in public theaters across the United States by Gravitas Ventures. Check your local listings for showings. Following the debut in March, the Garden Conservancy will be offering a private members-only film screening April 5th 2018 at the New York School of Interior Design. Become a Garden Conservancy Memberhere.

The Garden Conservancy, in partnership with garden owners, gardeners, communities, horticulturists, garden designers & historians, works to preserve outstanding gardens across America. Helping new & emerging public gardens become community-based public resources by drawing upon the expertise from a network of experts in all aspects of garden design, management & restoration. They also contribute to the welfare of existing public gardens, helping them manage both natural & manmade challenges to their survival. Many of the gardens they work with are National Historic Landmarks or on the National Register of Historic Places.

At her core, the Green witch is a naturalist, an herbalist, a wise woman, and a healer. She embraces the power of nature; she draws energy from the Earth & Universe; she relies on natural objects like stones & gems to commune with the land she lives off of; she uses plants, flowers, oils, and herbs for healing; she calls on nature for guidance; and she respects every living being no matter how small.

In The Green Witch, you will learn the way of the Green witch, from how to use herbs, plants, and flowers to make potions and oils for everyday healing as well as how crystals, gems, stones, and even twigs can help you find balance within. You’ll discover how to find harmony in Earth’s great elements and connect your soul to every living creature. This guide also contains directions for herbal blends and potions, ritual suggestions, recipes for sacred foods & information on how to listen to and commune with nature. Embrace the world of the Green witch & discover what the power of nature has in store for you. Equal parts informational and inspired. Green Goddess Gratitude Great & Small Goodread!

Fall in love with the world through poetry, movement, meditation + love elixirs. Dive deep into your own beauty, wisdom + big-hearted love in all its forms. It’s time to bloom! Join Katie Hess, Flower Alchemist of Lotuswei & Author of Flowerevolution, for a flower-filled gathering, a powerful distillation of good vibes featuring mandalas, meditations, elixirs & flower readings with special guests: Poet + Story Whisperer Morgan Farley; Movement Magician Lynda Sing; and Luminary Intuitive Robin Sandomirsky, for Flowerlounge’s one and only East Coast event of the year. Tap into the power of the last days of the Fire Phoenix Year + an imminent New Moon Solar Eclipse with this one-of-a-kind, transformative evening. For rapid growth, accelerated transformation & energetic wow! Tickets here.

Acquainting oneself with Hess’s new book & accompanying card deck “Flowerevolution” + appreciating the Lotuswei range of magical elixirs = great prerequisites for the event.

Flowerevolution: Blooming into Your Full Potential with the Magic of Flowers, by Katie Hess (Author) & Louie Schwartzberg (Photographer), 2016.

In Flowerevolution, Flower Alchemist Katie Hess & photographer Louie Schwartzberg invite us to venture into the vast and beautiful world of flowers, and learn how they can be used to give us a fuller experience of our everyday lives. This flower-filled guidebook is rich with information, stories, images, and rituals that demonstrate the largely untapped power of flowers. Most people are unaware that quiet, unassuming flowers can amplify our positive qualities and awaken new joy in everyday life, but in fact, flowers are ready to spark us to reach our greatest potential -one that is likely bigger than we can even imagine!

Flowerevolution is designed to open you up to a fresh new world of magic and possibility. In it, you choose the flowers you’re most attracted to from the 48 different profiles, and discover what your favorite flowers reveal about you. You’ll find out how flowers can be used for a variety of conditions, including pregnancy and postpartum, travel and jet lag, and addiction; and learn the answers to the 10 most commonly asked questions about flower elixirs. The book also features ancient and modern methods for harnessing flowers’ unique qualities, including flower baths, elixirs, mandalas, body oils, desserts & more!

Elevate your mood health well-being & aesthetic Winter into Spring with these Artful Living Blog fabulous finds from near and afar. Who couldn’t use a beneficial beauty and beyond boost this time of year? The idea of deep rest, to replenish and renew the body mind spirit & recharge during this at-times-sluggish season is appealing, as is enhancing your beauty routine with nourishing & aromatically rich products, while adding a few essential seasonal pieces to your environment & wardrobe to refresh and organize, Artful Living Blog style. Comfort calm citrine calendula cream chakra curios country couture candles & more.

Elevate your Winter skincare game with Ursa Major’s Super Natural hydration boost plus fast-absorbing Golden HourRecovery Cream. An Artful Blog absolute favorite for its unisex qualities, healing Sunflower, Calendula & Sea Buckhorn properties + aromatics of Neroli, Sandalwood & a touch of sour Rose anchored with fresh-soaked Earth. Crafted by a great Green & grounded grooming line free of synthetic chemicals and toxins out of Vermont, with a brand ethos that comes from a desire to live a healthy, active, stress-free natural life close to the land. A stand out cream and brand in an increasingly crowded field for its philosophy, simplicity, efficacy, clean packaging & quality.

Ayurveda teaches that the balancing of mind, body and spirit will ultimately lead to peace, harmony and lasting beauty, as will picking up Sundari’s stellar new floral citrus Neem Hand Oil & best-selling Chamomile Eye Oil. Positively potent travel-friendly essential oil aromatic botanical treats to quench thirsty skin. Skin is instantly relieved upon contact while the essential oils soak deep into the dermis to boost natural repair and defense processes. Sundari encompasses a complete line of Ayurvedic luxury spa treatments with worldwide distribution, that will help you discover truly healthy skin & encourage you to find your own sense of well-being.

Discover distinctly divine & luxurious Rosa Damascena flower oil potions that are highly effective skin-enhancing elixirs for day & night. Formulated by French skincare experts & made in the Isparta region of Turkey famous for its Roses, using traditional techniques handed down through generations, with only a limited number of bottles being produced each year. It takes approximately 4000 kilograms of Roses, hand-picked before the sunrise, to produce just one kilo of pure Rose oil in an incredibly labor-intensive process. Gülsha perfectly distills this fragrant skin-loving essence & combines it with other powerfully healing & protective seed oils to nourish dehydrated skin with vital nutrients to restore radiance.

Stay warm dry & stylishly seasonal in these Loden Green rural landscape classic wares. Artful Blog favorites for Gray Green rugged riding style perfection. L.L. Bean, the quintessential American company based in Maine known for its iconic boots and catalog, plus clothes & gear designed for getting out there, with cutting-edge technology for staying safe & warm. Whose motto is the outside is inside everything they make. At some point the typical New Englander stops letting the weather ruin another pair of boots and picks up a pair of Hunter boots. Then wonders how they ever did without them! Founded in 1856, Hunter is a British heritage brand renowned for its iconic original boot, and Royal Appointment to HM The Queen & HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. The brand has a rich history of innovation and continues to forge designs that shield pioneers from the elements and bleakest of landscapes.

Dooney & Burke = vintage vibes Florentine gift to self or other that will stand the test of time. Inspired by America’s rich history in leather goods, ranging from mail pouches to saddle bags & early military gear, Dooney & Bourke known for its New England roots and heritage, designs & crafts instant classics with the perfect union of timeless American style, the highest regard for the finest raw materials & time-honored techniques of old world craftsman. The Florentine Collection with Vacchetta leather, matte Gold hardware & micro-suede detailing, has the look & feel of fine saddlery leather, and develops an even richer patina with time and use. TheArtful Living Blog’s favorite pieces rich with enduring style, timeless versatility & effortless functionality.

Satya means “truth” in Sanskrit, and that sentiment beautifully inspires the New York-based designer yogini jewelry line of the same name, handcrafted for the modern & fearless woman in mind. Offering necklaces, bracelets, malas and earrings with symbols & semi-precious gemstones within specialty collections such as: Mandala -that embodies the divine spirit of this age-old art form, and Chakra -that delivers powerful messaging, mantras & inspiration to tap into empowerment. This year The Artful Living Blog chose Citrine & Yellow Jade as its empowering crystal allies for 2018. Both Solar Plexus Chakra stones -or Manipura, whichgoverns health, self-worth & energy. The solar plexus chakra is located right above the naval, and honors the life force, self-esteem & confidence. Manipura infuses the body with energy, balance & strength. In wearing these stones, you are supported to blossom in your growing spirituality, with inner peace, joy & happiness.

While there are a lot of essential oil companies these days, only a few brands manage to get the real seal of approval when it comes to being utterly trustworthy & favored by their customers. Known for having an amazing variety of therapeutic-grade essential oils as well as beautiful gift sets & beneficial carrier oils, it comes as no surprise that Edens Garden is considered one of the best in terms of quality, price-point, selection & service. The expert aromatherapist crafted & curated collection of synergy blends are particularly noteworthy remedies, also included are 18 thoughtful OK For Kids blends, prompting everything from calm to sleep to joy. Edens Garden seasonal diffuser blend recipe: 4 Drops of Cedarwood + 4 Drops of Pine. The Artful Living Blog loves to drop this blend atop the woodstove this time of year for scentsational seasonal ambiance!

A 100% Baby Alpaca Handmade Throw that is softer than cashmere is just sublime. Alpaca is one of the world’s most luxurious fabrics, cherished the world over, not only for its scarcity but also for its natural attributes, its fineness, durability, and hypoallergenic & lightweight qualities. Adams’s gorgeous accessories suit any season, a swoon-worthy collection of hand-spun sweaters, blankets, robes & accessories perfect for stepping up your Winter wardrobe or gift-giving. The Artful Blog finds the throws especially comforting, perfect for Winter into Spring evenings by the fire. Alicia Adams Alpaca raises & manages its own herd of over 200 Suri Alpacas at The Artful Living Blog’s favorite family farm in New York’s Hudson Valley.